Bell gasholder



Dec. 22, 1936. K. JAGscHlTZ BELL GAsHpL'DER Filed April 7, 1951` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invenior.' )fo/wmp 765 c/// rz Defz2, 1936.

K. JAGSCHITZ BELL GASHOLDER med April 7, 19:51

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 22, 1936 UNITED STATE Fai T OFFICE BELL GASHGLDER many Application April 7, 1931, Serial No. 528,279 In Germany April 16, 1930 7 Claims.

The dry or waterless gas holders known in practice consist of a fixed vertical tubular shell of circular or polygonal transverse section in which a closing disk is vertically movable. In

'5 contradistinction thereto the present invention relates to a dry or waterless gas holder, the chief characteristic feature of which comprises a vertically movable bell capable of rising and falling according to the amount of gas contained Al() in it, the bell being arranged upon and conlining a stationary bottom, the rim of which lies close to the inner surface of sai-d bell and engages a packing means arranged between the bell and bottom. The packing means may be 15 of any desired description; they may be completely dry, or a suitable substance, such as a liquid or a fat or grease of a suitable consistency, or the like, may be used.

This arrangement presents over the known 2O disk gas holders, and also over the telescopic gas holders with sliding packing, as of late proposed,

a number of very important advantages, which will be pointed out hereinafter.

One of the disadvantageous features of the abovementioned telescopic gas holders, as well as of the disk gas holders, resides in the fact that the support of the packing or sealing means is movable; besides, with disk gas holders, the seal is accessible only with difficulty, as, in order no to reach it, it is necessary to ascend the shell at its outer surface and to descend at the inner surface thereof. With the present improved construction, however, the packing or sealing means remain always at the same place and y are easily accessible, as are also the guide rolls or the sliding cheeks for the immovable bell.

Another advantage of my invention, especially over the disk gas holders, resides in the fact that enclosed spaces, in which in case of leak- 1@ age explosive mixtures can form, are obviated.

A particularly important advantage of the invention is that the stresses arising in the gas holder walls are by far smaller than in the known forms of gas holders, and the walls can be designed, therefore, considerably lighter than in the known constructions.

The improved gas holder can be designed with a circular section, as well as with a polygonal one.

50 The invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example on the accompanying drawings on which Figure 1 is an axial section through a gas holder designed according to the invention; Figure 2 is a similar view, showing 55 a disk Vgas holder of known design for the sake (Cl. L18---176) of comparison; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are views similar to Fig. 1, showing, however, modincations; Figure 8 shows a detail of the wall structure, and Figure 9 is intended to aid in understanding the manner in which the g-as holder is erected, as all fully described hereinafter.

Referring to Fig. l, a denotes the bottom which is carried by a suitably designed structure or frame b. The bottom a may be provided with a ciosable opening for the escape of water of con- 10 densation from the interior of the holder. It is oi advantage to arrange this opening at the of the bottom, and it is also practical to provide heating means around the said rim in order to melt ice that may have formed during frost. To prevent the ice from adhering to the inner surface of the shell, irrigating devices q (Fig. 4) may be provided, by means of which tar oil is distributed -around the circumference Gf the Shell. 2()

Above the bottom is the bell c which is sealed in known manner at the places d with respect to the bottom a and is guided thereat. From the centre of vthe bottom there extends upwardly the guide tube f which is irmly connected with the bottom and the upper end of which constitutes a guide member for the bell c. A packing g provided at this place, i. e. between the tube and the centre of the roof of the bell and attached to the latter seals such place.

The chief advantages which the new arrangement and combination of parts presents can well be ascertained from Fig. 1. The packing d is and remains always at the same place `and is easily and conveniently accessible from the inner side of the frame, it being, of course, understood that it is designed in an appropriate manner. The second advantage, via-the obviating of spaces in which explosive mixtures can form, can be attained by designing the frame b as an open structure and by letting the guide tube f remain open at both ends so that the space below the bottom a is continuously ventilated. This very good ventilation permits the closing of the space below the bottom a to a greater or lesser degree, and to employ it for any suitable purpose, but it is in such a case advisable to provide one or more apertures in the wall surrounding said space so as to allow of the Ventilating air streaming through the said space.

The third chief advantage will appear from a comparison of Fig. 1 with Fig. 2 in which a disk gas holder of known design is shown. The vertically movable disk is guided by rolls h. The moment counteracting the tipping over of the disk 55 has in this case only the comparatively short lever arm i wherefrom result relatively high roll pressures, and the disk, as well as the shell enclosing it, must be designed in correspondence with these pressures. In contradistinction thereto, with the present improved gas holder, the closing bell is guided on the one hand by rolls m which are vertically guided, and on the other hand by rolls provided in the proximity of the upper packing. The moment counteracting the tipping over of the bell has in this case the moment arm 7c which, as can be seen at once, is a multiple of the corresponding arm in Fig. 2, and the pressures arising in the guides at the bearing are correspondingly reduced.

The more favorable action of the forces in the improved gas holder is due also to the following circumstance: If the shell is computed according to the old system, there must be chosen as basis for the computationof the wind pressure the assumption that the disk is in its lowermost position, as the conditions are then the most unfavorable. This will be clear when it is considered that when the closing disk is in its highest position, nearly the entire shell will be subjected to the action of the inner gas pressure and is thereby stayed in radial direction. If, however, the closing disk is in the low position, such staying no longer exists. Now, as the shell must stand the wind pressure in every position ofthe disk, the computation must be based upon the lowerrnost position of the disk, and theI staying effect of the inner gas pressure cannot be taken advantage of in any way. These matters are by fary more favorable with the present improved gas holder. In this construction the upper part of the bell, insofar it is located above the bottom a, is always subjected to the action of the inner gas pressure, the dead weight of the freely suspended shell, together with any loading weights' that may be afxed to the lower rirn of the shell, serving for increasing the gas pressure. The stayingaction of the inner gas pressure can, thus, be taken advantage of fully in computing the bell and determining its dimensions. Those parts of the shell that lie below the bottom a when the shell is in its lowermost position and which, therefore, can no more be stayed by the inner gas pressure find, with the present improved holder, the necessary sup-port at the supporting structure b` which can be provided for that purpose with sliding cheeks :l: (Fig. which may be adjustable, if desired. In view of these favorable conditions, computation shows considerably lower weights for the construction of the shell, including the sheet metal members, than isthe case with the known constructions.

The supporting structure b carries at its top the rigid bottom a. by which all Wind .pressures are uniformly distributed upon the individual supports and fields constituting said structure, the latter thus requiring a minimum amount of material for its construction. That part of the bell which at any moment is disposed below the bottom is protected at its inner surface from being unfavorably influenced by the weather, and

there is also no danger that water of condensation aoc-1,916

tube f has been omitted. In order to prevent the bell nevertheless from tipping over, the bell shell is elongated downwardly or at least provided with downwardly directed extensions, so that when the bell is in its uppermost position, as in Fig. 3, the moment arm lcl is available to resist the tipping action of wind pressure. It is in this case not necessary to make the bell portion k1 plate-webbed, as shown in the right hand half of Fig. 3, but such portion may be designed in the manner shown at k2 in Fig. 3 in which k2 denotes a guide structure provided with guide rolls m1 arranged at the lower end of said structure.

In Fig. 4 the guide tube j extends down to the ground and can be used in this case as a central support for the bottom a. If it is to be used also in this case as a ventilation tube, inlet openings n must be provided in its wall.

In the further modification shown in Fig. 5 the tube f which is in this case not longer than in Fig. 1 is supported by a conical structure, this structure being supported in turn by the structure b, as shown. This constructional form presents over that shown in Fig. 4 the advantage that the gas holder is practically nonsensitive at all to settlings of the ground, because the bottom a is not in the least subjected to distortions of any kind.

yThe invention presents also certain other advantages, of which the most important'are the following:

The arrangement and combination of the parts render possible a considerable reduction of the foundation. With the known construction the inner gas pressure acts directly upon the ground. With the present invention, however, the gas pressure is transmitted to the foundation by the intermediary of the bottom a, and the structure b. With the known constructions the Windward forces tend to lift the foundation upon the wind side, whereas with the present improved construction this detrimental effect is compensated at least partly, and generally wholly, by the gas pressure, in consequence whereof the foundations can be by far smaller. If the bell is completely emptied its top contacts with the bottom a whereby a substitute for the action of the gas pressure is afforded, and such supporting ccntact affords the further advantage that the shell of the bell is freely suspended and is, therefore, not subjected to a bending stress.

The invention presents also the further advantage that the gas connections can be arranged outside the holder at favorably located places and are easily accessible; separate shafts for such purpose can thus be dispensed with. This is a requirement, upon whose fulfillment very great value is placed in practice, for instance in the case of heavy gases, such as blast-furnace gases. Y

Also certain other constructional forms are possible. Thus, for instance, the bottom a can be arranged at a lesser height than in the examples shown in Figures l, 3, 4, 5 and 6; it may even be arranged practically flush with the ground, and an annular or tubular pit for the reception of the bell may be provided below the thus arranged bottom. The entire shell may be designed in known manner as a spirally-shaped shell; if, on the other hand, the shell is to be prevented from rotary movement, known means may be used for this purpose, for instance by arranging the vertical rivet seams of the shell in the manner shown in Fig. 8 in which T and r1 are the sheet-metal members connected with one another by rivets t by the intermediary of flat iron bars s and s1. The inner ends of the rivets which are located opposite the packing are countersunk so that this face of the bar s is flat. This bar constitutes the guiding member that keeps the shell from rotary movement.

The weights I (Fig. 1) that consist preferably of concrete may be replaced by one or more bodies of water, as shown in the constructional form illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the top of the bell is designed as a flat basin o which is preferably subdivided by vertical partition walls which assist in retaining the water in said basin.

It is also possible to design the gas holder as a telescopic holder, as in Fig. '7. Building the gas holder in this manner presents the advantage that the supporting structure can be lower than in the other cases, in consequence whereof the entire height of the holder is reduced, which in turn yields a shorter moment arm for the wind forces. On the other hand, the drawback must be considered that only one (d) of the sealing place is stationary, whereas the other seal or seals (p) move vertically with the telescoping sections. It will be understood that suitable means (not shown) will be provided to limit the movement of the intermediate gas holder sections between the bottom of the gas holder and the bell to prevent disengagement of such intermediate members at their seals in the collapsed condition of the gas holder.

In order to prevent excessive lifting of the bell, abutment members f may be provided at suitable places, for instance at the tube f or at the supporting structure b as shown at b', b" (Figs. 3 and '7), these abutment members limiting the upward movement of the bell; their arrangement may be such that they become active only after the bell has formed a small gap either above the bottom a or at the tube f so that the excess of the gas can escape. It is obvious that in such a case the gas escapes freely into the open air without any possibility of doing damage. The abutment members may, however, be arranged also in such a manner that the gas cannot freely escape but that an increase of the pressure in the bell takes place. The tensile forces then arising compensate one another in the structure. In order to prevent surpassing of the admissible highest pressure, safety valves c' (Fig. 3) of any approved design may be provided and mounted in known manner.

The shell can, of course be provided with a separate outer guide structure of any suitable description.

Mounting of the gas holder is preferably effected first erecting the supporting structure b and the bottom a. Then the top structure for or of the bell is mounted over the bottom, and now the sheet-metal plates that are to form the wall of the bell are attached to said top structure ring after ring in downward direction, the bell being correspondingly lifted step by step in correspondence with the progress of the work and being supported during the consecutive phases by brackets, such as w and w1 in Fig. 9. Lifting of the bell correspondingly can be effected either by blowing it upwardly by filling it with air or gas under pressure or by mechanical means. In either of these cases it is suited to the purpose to employ the guide tube f as a hoisting pole. To make these matters more clear I refer to Fig. 9 in which a denotes again the bottom, b the supporting structure, o the packing means,

and c1 the bell top to which the uppermost series of the sheet-metal Wall members c2 has already been alxed. The gure shows that state of the mounting procedure in which the second set c3 of the sheet-metal wall plates is to follow the rst. In order to render the mounting possible a scaiolding u is provisionally provided at the supporting structure b. When the plates c2 and c3 have been connected with one another the iinished part of the bell is lifted by as much as corresponds to the height of the plates c3 and now the next series of the plates is connected with said latter plates, and so on.

I claim:

1. A bell gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gas-tight bottom, means for supporting said bottom above a horizontal surface, a vertically movable bell arranged over the bottom in such a manner that the lower rim of the bell is lower than the border of the bottom so that the bell connes such bottom, said bottom extending transversely to the vertical axis of the bell, sealing means at the rim of said bottom for sealing the gas holder at such place, and an open tube extending from the center of the bottom upwardly through the top of the bell for guiding the bell and communicating with the space between the bottom and said horizontal surface to Ventilate the same.

2. A bell gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gas-tight bottom, means for supporting said bottom above the ground, a vertically movable bell arranged over the bottom in such a manner that the lower rim of the bell is lower than the border of the bottom so that the bell confines such bottom, said bottom extending transversely to the vertical axis of the bell, sealing means at the rim of said bottom for sealing the gas holder at such place, and a vertical member extending from the ground centrally through the said bottom and through the top of the bell to guide the latter, said member being rigidly connected with the bottom so as to support it centrally,

3. A bell gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gas-tight bottom, a vertically movable bell arranged over the bottom and of greater diameter than the bottom so as to conne the latter, said bottom extending transversely to the vertical axis of the bell, a structure supporting the bottom above the surface of the ground at such a distance that when the bell is in its lowermost position, resting on the bottom, its lowermost edge is above the ground, so that the bell is at no time subjected to compressive stress due to its weight, 4and a sliding seal at the rim of said bottom for sealing the gas holder at such place.

4. A bell gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gas tight bottom, a vertically movable bell arranged over and above said bottom and confining the same in all operating positions of the bell, a structure supporting the bottom above the surface of the ground at a distance which is greater than the height of the bell, the vertical wall oi the bell thus being suspended from the top of the bell even in the lowermost position of the latter when it rests on the bottom, whereby the walls of the bell are at no time subjected to compressive stress due to its weight, and a stationary sliding seal at the rim of said bottom and engaging the bell for sealing the gas holder at such place.

5. A bell gas holder as set forth in claim 3, including a vertical member extending from the Y centre of said bottom upwardly through the top of the bell for guiding the bell in its vertical movements, and sealing means arranged between the top of the bell and the vertical member.

6. A telescoping bell gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gas-tight bottom, a vertically movable bell arranged over the bottom and of larger diameter than said bottom, said bottom extending transversely to the vertical axis of the bell, an annular gas holder section between the bottom and the bell telescoping with the latbottom and said section being attached to said bottom.

7. A gas holder comprising, in combination, a stationary gastight bottom, a movable shell cooperating with said bottom to provide a storage space for gas and including a vertically movable bell arranged over said bottom and of greater internal diameter than the outer diameter of said bottom, said bell being thus adapted to conne such bottom, a structure supporting the bottom above the surface of the ground at such a distance that when the bell is in its lowermost position, wherein it rests upon said bottom, its lowermost edge is above the ground, whereby the walls of the bell are at no time subjected to compressive stress due to the weight of the bell, and a sliding seal located wholly inwardly of the bell and acting against the inner surface of the Walls of the bell for sealing the gas holder at the bell.

KONRAD JAGSCHITZ. 

